1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an heat exchanger apparatus used primarily for an automobile air conditioner.
2. Description of the Related References
With this type of heat exchanger apparatus, generally, an entire core of a heat exchanger apparatus is integrally put together first by soldering; subsequently, intake/outlet pipes for refrigerant are connected to it by welding; and an expansion valve is connected to these welded intake/outlet pipes.
However, manufacturing of a heat exchanger apparatus having the welded intake/outlet pipes requires excessive processes, which is a problem.
Accordingly, in conventional heat exchanger apparatuses, e.g. those disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 63-267868, Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication 64-28762, and in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 02-50059, the intake/outlet pipes for a refrigerant are preliminarily integrated into the core of a heat exchanger apparatus, and the expansion valve is mounted on them by means of a block type joint member.
However, with this type of heat exchanger apparatus, wherein the intake/outlet pipes are integrally formed on the core, as in the aforementioned examples, the heat exchanger apparatus is compressed inward in the stacking direction of tube elements when the soldering is completed, and thereby the distance between the intake/outlet pipes is changed according to the compression levels of the heat exchanger apparatus.
As with the cases of the aforementioned examples, when the heat exchanger apparatus has as few as two refrigerant passages a reduction in the distance between the two intake/outlet pipes will be manageable if the two intake/outlet pipes are installed near the center of the heat exchange apparatus. However, if a heat exchanger apparatus has as many as four or six refrigerant passages, the distance between the intake/outlet pipes will be longer since the intake/outlet pipes are positioned near the edges of the heat exchanger apparatus, respectively, which results in the greater reduction in the distance between the two pipes, causing a problem that determining the distance between the intake/outlet pipes is difficult when they are connected to the expansion valve.